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Heston Brake Long Barrow is a prehistoric funerary monument situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument under reference MM018. Long barrows represent some of the earliest monumental architecture in Britain, constructed during the Neolithic period as communal burial chambers. The monument's location on Triassic bedrock, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Mesozoic era, would have presented particular challenges for its builders in terms of the materials available for construction and the underlying geology they worked upon.
The barrow itself reflects the distinctive megalithic building traditions of Neolithic Wales, where such monuments served as focal points for settlement and ceremonial activity. The earthwork's preservation in the Welsh landscape is testament to its solid construction and the stability provided by the underlying Triassic rocks. Long barrows typically contained burial chambers accessed by passage or entrance, though individual structural details require archaeological assessment.
As a scheduled monument, Heston Brake Long Barrow remains an important record of prehistoric funerary practice and settlement patterns in Wales. Its protection ensures that this monument continues to inform our understanding of Neolithic communities and their relationship with the Welsh landscape they inhabited and memorialised through monumental building.
Heston Brake Long Barrow is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM018. View the official record →
Heston Brake Long Barrow is a prehistoric funerary monument situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled ancient monument under reference MM018.
Heston Brake Long Barrow dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a long barrow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Heston Brake Long Barrow is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is MM018.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Portskewett Hill Roman Site (0.8 km), St. Mary's Churchyard Cross, Portskewett (0.8 km), Harold's House (site of) (0.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Heston Brake Long Barrow's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Heston Brake Long Barrow stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.